Ne-Yo later apologised for the upset nature of his messages, and has also clarified his position on illegal downloading.

He said: "I just feel like people don't have patience anymore. Where's the class and integrity that came with music back in the day? You listen to it before it's supposed to be listened to and then you don't like it but you didn't even give it a chance to get done.

"That's like eating a meal before its finished cooking; of course you're not gonna like it!"